PETERBOROUGH, Ont. — Michael McLeod had a goal and three assists and Spencer Watson struck twice as the Mississauga Steelheads downed the Peterborough Petes 5-3 on Thursday in Game 1 of the Ontario Hockey League's Eastern Conference final.

Ryan McLeod and Owen Tippett also scored for the Steelheads, who got a 27-save outing from Matthew Mancina.

Semyon Der-Arguchintsev scored once and set up goals from Steven Lorentz and Nikita Korostelev to lead the Petes with a three-point effort.

Dylan Wells stopped 27-of-32 shots in defeat.

Peterborough entered Thursday with an 8-0 record in the playoffs, with sweeps over the Niagara IceDogs and Kingston Frontenacs.

The Petes will host Game 2 on Saturday.

The Western Conference final between the Erie Otters and Owen Sound Attack starts Friday.